International Football
Dutch great Patrick Kluivert named coach of Indonesia
Netherlands and Barcelona great Patrick Kluivert was named Indonesia coach on Jan 8, tasked with taking the country to their first World Cup since independence.
The 48-year-old former striker inherits a side featuring mostly players born in the Netherlands and naturalised to represent the Southeast Asian nation.
“The Dutch football legend has signed a two-year contract from 2025 to 2027 with an option for an extension,” Indonesia’s football association said in a statement.
Kluivert, whose managerial career has not matched his sparkling playing days, is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on Jan 11 and will be introduced to the public the following day.
The Dutchman had been widely linked with the role after Indonesia controversially sacked the South Korean Shin Tae-yong on Jan 6.
Shin took Indonesia, who are 127th in the Fifa rankings, into the decisive third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Indonesia have been to the World Cup only once, in 1938, when they were under Dutch colonial rule. The country gained independence in 1945.
They are firmly in the hunt for 2026, sitting third in their qualifying group after one win and three draws in six games. The top two go straight to North America, with third and fourth going into another round of qualifying.
Indonesia’s next qualifier is a crunch trip in March to Australia, who are second in Asian qualifying Group C but just a point ahead. Japan are the runaway leaders of the group
An Indonesian football association official admitted to AFP that Kluivert’s appointment was not popular with fans, who were still behind Shin.
But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Shin had communication problems with the European players. That’s why the replacement is a Netherlands coach.”
Amsterdam-born Kluivert retired as a player in 2008 after a stellar career that started at Ajax, where he won the Champions League, before moves to AC Milan and then Barcelona.
He was one of Europe’s most feared forwards of his era, scoring 122 goals in six seasons for the Spanish giants. He also scored 40 times in 79 games for his country.
Kluivert’s managerial career has not been nearly as spectacular.
His last coaching role was in charge of Adana Demirspor in Turkey for five months in 2023. Before that, he was caretaker manager of Curacao in 2021.
Much of his coaching experience has been as an assistant, notably to fellow former Ajax and Netherlands player Clarence Seedorf with Cameroon in 2018-2019. He was also No. 2 to Louis van Gaal with the Dutch national side in 2012-2014.
-AFP
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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